Russell surprised by Verstappen: 'Thought it would go down to last race'

Did Russell expect Verstappen to be champion?

Verstappen dominated at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, but after the Miami GP, McLaren and Lando Norris managed to make things extremely difficult for the Dutchman. In the process, Ferrari and Mercedes managed to beat Verstappen several times. Russell believes this makes Verstappen's title win, with two rounds remaining, all the more impressive.

"Exceptional. He had a dominant car at the start of the year and he got the wins when he needed to. Genuinely thought he probably wasn't going to win this championship. He delivered week in, week out. Got the best result the car was capable of. His rivals didn't," Russell said.

"I thought it was going to go right to the wire, and yet he wins with three races [2 Grands Prix and a sprint] to go," the Brit added.

Can Russell compete with Verstappen in 2025?

Mercedes topped every single practice session in Las Vegas. Russell got himself on pole position, won the race and Lewis Hamilton worked his way back to P2 to give the team a one-two finish. Does Russell feel like he can compete with Verstappen regularly next season?

"We’ve just got to make sure that we get ourselves in that fight and give him a harder time because it's about time. I think we feel ready to try and take that challenge to the front," Russell added.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton